Economy

What is sustainable development? »Its definition and meaning

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The Sustainable Development follows the basic idea of meeting the needs of today 's society without compromising the stability of the future, ie, maintaining a "sustainable" balance between people in order to develop strategies towards the welfare of the world. The word sustainable has been questioned because in different countries its meaning varies around what is stable. There is talk of sustainable when the resources used to maintain a structure are never exhausted, so it is safe to invest, live, create, develop, explore and more in that field.

What is sustainable development

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In the eighties the definition of sustainability was introduced in the ecological literature to refer to the progress and economic evolution of those countries sensitive to environmental problems. One of the most common terminations of this term is the agility of achieving economic prosperity while sustaining it over time, together protecting the natural systems of the entire world and providing a better quality of life for citizens.

On the other hand, it is defined as a procedure that encompasses the economic advancement of society while respecting the living environment and is responsible for satisfying all the needs presented today without the intention of risking the capacities of future generations to satisfy their own good. Its purpose is that economic development does not negatively affect the life of the planet or the persistence of humanity and to achieve this process it is necessary to integrate economic growth, social justice and responsibility for the preservation of the environment..

The definition of sustainable development became present in the 20th century once the consequences of the ecosystem of the socioeconomic model of consumer communities since the Industrial Revolution could not be hidden. However, his concept was formally employed around 1987 in the Brundtland Report which was formulated by the World Commission on Environment and Development, appointed by Harlem Brundtland, known as the Norwegian Prime Minister. This report expressed the idea of ​​meeting the present needs of humanity without jeopardizing the possibilities of future generations to meet their own needs.

Difference between sustainable and sustainable development

According to the United Nations, the dissimilarity that exists between sustainable development and sustainable development is that the latter refers to the procedure in which natural assets are preserved and protected for the future good of generations, leaving aside any requirement, be they political, social and cultural of the people, while sustainable development is based on satisfying the social, economic and healthy living environment needs of the present generation, without putting future generations at risk.

Sustainable development goals

The objectives were established by the United Nations to end poverty and to protect the planet, ensuring that all individuals enjoy peace and prosperity. Currently, 17 objectives are being developed that aim to create a sustainable life for future generations and that have specific goals to achieve. The objectives of this development will be mentioned and explained more briefly below.

1. End of poverty: the various manifestations of poverty include malnutrition, hunger, lack of a decent home, limited access to basic services such as health or education, and social discrimination. To ensure that it ends globally, it is necessary that the increase at an economic level is inclusive for the creation of sustainable jobs and the promotion of equity, just as the social protection systems should help in strengthening the responses of those populations that suffered economic losses during various disasters and must eradicate poverty in the most impoverished areas.

2. Zero hunger : it aims to eliminate famine throughout the world, implementing agricultural strategies to increase the distribution of food products and promoting a moderate and fair organization of technological opportunities and work in conjunction with the land. This objective seeks to end with each of the forms of hunger and malnutrition by the year 2030 and thus ensure access for all individuals, seeking a competent and nutritious diet over the years. On the other hand, it promotes agricultural practices through equal access to technology and other markets.

3. Health and well-being: good health is imperative for sustainability and the 2030 agenda reflects the interconnectedness between the two. This task must take into account the increase in social and economic inequalities, rapid urbanization, threats to the climate and the continuous fight against communicable and non-communicable diseases, in which it is also necessary to cover certain basic needs such as access to various drugs and the various vaccines needed.

4. Quality education : education is one of the most powerful and proven drivers for ensuring sustainable development. Therefore, it seeks to ensure that regardless of sex, children manage to complete both primary and secondary education. It also seeks to promote equal and free access in universities and technical institutions, eliminating any gender and income disparity.

5. Gender equality: guaranteeing universal access to health and granting women equal rights in access to economic goods such as land and other properties are one of the primary goals to achieve this objective. Today women are capable of holding public office, but encouraging them to become successful leaders in many regions in the future will help strengthen policies and laws and achieve greater gender equality.

6. Clean water and sanitation: due to today's worsening climatic conditions, it is extremely important to guarantee access to drinking water and to achieve this objective, the protection of the most sensitive ecosystems such as forests and rivers is required.. Another way of caring is by creating and improving technologies that are capable of allowing the treatment and use of water.

7. Affordable and clean energy : energy is extremely essential for almost all the great competencies that humanity faces today, be it for employment, increased income, climate change, security or food production. For this reason, working for the execution of the projects of this objective is imperative, since it directly affects the achievements of this development and by virtue of this, it has sought to increase the consumption of clean energies such as wind, solar and electricity. thermal.

8. Decent work and economic growth: sustainable development seeks to stimulate economic growth by increasing the levels of production and technological innovation. The aim of this objective is that situations such as slavery, forced labor and human trafficking are eliminated and that each person can have a good job so that they can generate sufficient income and have the capacity to meet their demands.

9. Industry, innovation and infrastructure: Innovation and sustainable investment in infrastructure are essential drivers of economic development and because of the millions of people who live in cities and have transport and renewable energy, these have become more important as well as the development of new industries, communications and information technologies. Environmental progress also played an important role in finding immutable solutions to environmental and economic challenges, as did proposing new jobs and promoting energy efficiency.

10. Reduction of inequalities: income inequality has been one of the main problems worldwide that requires global solutions. These imply the improvement of regulation and control of financial markets and institutions, promoting assistance for direct investment from abroad to the regions most in need. To curb income inequality, it is important to adopt strong policies that can empower low-income individuals and promote the economic inclusion of all regardless of gender, race or ethnicity.

11. Sustainable cities and communities: the precipitous growth of urban development that took place due to the growing population and increased migration, has caused an explosive expansion of megacities, especially in developed areas, while neighborhoods Marginals have become a more significant feature of urban life. For this reason, it seeks to strengthen the safety and sustainability of cities, guaranteeing access to safe and affordable homes and creating green public areas that have better planning and inclusive and participatory urban management.

12. Responsible consumption and production: to achieve economic growth it is necessary to reduce the ecological footprint by transforming production methods and the consumption of goods and resources. In this case, agriculture is one of the main consumers of water in the world and irrigation today represents around 70% of all the fresh water that is available for daily consumption. Good management of shared natural resources and elimination of toxic wastes and other pollutants are essential to achieve this goal.

13. Climate action: currently all the nations that make up the entire world have experienced in one way or another the dramatic effects of climate change and therefore, this objective is intended to strengthen resilience to the risks that are linked to the climate and various natural disasters in each of the countries. Likewise, it seeks to develop methods to increase the capacity for planning and efficient management of climate change in the least developed countries.

14. Underwater life: today it can be perceived that the oceans absorb approximately 30% of the carbon dioxide caused by human actions, in the same way, it was recorded that there is around 26% increase in marine acidification since the initiation of the industrial revolution. For this reason, it seeks to create a framework that can order and preserve each of the marine and coastal ecosystems, trying to avoid aquatic contamination.

15. Life of terrestrial ecosystems: over the years millions of hectares of forests have been lost and the constant degradation of drylands has caused the desertification of approximately 3.6 billion hectares, causing a disproportionate impact on all communities. This goal was designed to take the steps necessary to reduce the loss of diverse natural habitats and to support water security around the world.

16. Peace, justice and strong institutions: insecurity and high levels of violence have very destructive consequences for the development of a nation and significantly affect economic growth. For this reason, it seeks to reduce mainly the various forms of violence and work with communities and governments to find solutions to all conflicts and insecurities. The promotion of human rights, the strengthening of the rule of law and the reduction of illicit weapons are fundamental to this objective.

17. Partnerships for Goals: Achieving each of the goals mentioned above requires cooperation and fearless commitment to global partnerships. The purpose of these objectives is to support national plans for the adequate fulfillment of all their goals and to help developing countries to increase their exports, forming part of the challenge of achieving a universal trading system based on fair and open regulations that can benefit everyone.

Characteristics of sustainable development

Currently, sustainability is one of the advances that seeks for future generations to live in a world and a community that over time is equal to or better than the current one. Based on this, various characteristics have been gathered to define what sustainable development represents, they are mentioned below:

  • Sustainable development is one that seeks the way that economic activities are capable of maintaining or improving environmental systems.
  • It is the one that ensures that economic activities are perfected for a better quality of life.
  • It is the one that uses resources efficiently and promotes recycling and reuse.
  • It is the one that gives your confidence in the implementation of clean technologies.
  • It is the one that repairs damaged ecosystems and recognizes the true value of nature for human well-being and comfort.

Types of sustainable development

Sustainable development is based on the development of strategies on three important factors such as society, the economy and the environment. Likewise, it is recognized that an activity is of a sustainable nature when it has the combination of these three pillars and is capable of guaranteeing impartiality, viability and habitability.

Economic sustainability

It refers to the use of various strategies to employ, protect and preserve human resources in an optimal way to establish a responsible, fruitful and sustainable balance in the long term, through recovery and recycling. In general, economic sustainability is defined as the ability of the economy to continuously tolerate a defined level of economic production and is the one that seeks to satisfy various needs through human development, supporting the management of natural resources and the environment for future generations.

Environmental sustainability

This strategy examines and determines the renewable and non-renewable natural resources that are part of the surroundings of the entire world, to help in the support and improvement of the quality of life of many people and that of the different habitats in which they currently reside. For this reason, it seeks to develop knowledge that can contribute to the progress of the sustainability of various agricultural systems and thus can have results that do not cause an environmental impact and are capable of adapting to climate change.

Social sustainability

It can be defined as the search for balance and equity that aims to reduce poverty, favoring the virtues of economic growth and ensuring the basic needs of each person. It strives for individuals to engage in socially conscious behaviors, to leave a totally stable world for the next generations and also promotes the conscious exercise of human freedom, establishes satisfactory levels of training, education and awareness, facilitates cultural diversity and adopts values ​​that can generate harmonious behavior between humanity and the environment.

Sustainable development in Mexico

Today there are many initiatives that face the challenge of sustainable development in Mexico and some examples are ecological buildings, air decontamination and forest protection. Among the ecological constructions is the creation of community forestry companies, for local development, through the creation of jobs and community assets that can collaborate in the conservation of forests. On the other hand, PROAIRE was developed, an ecological plan that seeks to improve air quality through strategies that include the management of green areas.

Laws of sustainable development

At present, there is a legal framework capable of promoting sustainability in all countries around the world and, obviously, environmental norms and regulations are at the level of international opinions, to safeguard all the natural resources they have. However, the application of these laws are a real challenge when it comes to satisfying the well-being of a society and for this reason, it is important that citizens are responsible and actively participate in promoting a common good, always ensuring solutions. efficient and better results.

Sustainable rural development law

It is a precept of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, it is found in Fraction XX of Article 27, in which it is considered of general compliance throughout the Republic. Its suitability is of public order and its objective is to promote sustainable rural development throughout the nation and to create an appropriate environment according to the clauses of paragraph 40 of article 40 and also must guarantee the stewardship of the State and its important role in the promotion of equality, in accordance with the provisions of article 25 of said constitution.

It is considered of public interest that rural development that includes the planning and organization of agricultural productivity, its industrialization and its commercialization, of goods and services and all actions aimed at increasing the quality of life of all rural populations, according to what is established in article 26 of the Constitution.

General Law of sustainable forestry development

The issuance of this norm was approved on April 17, 2018 in the Plenary of the Senate and repeals the one that was published in the Official Gazette of the Federation in 2003, in order to regularize the use and preservation of Mexican forests. However, it presents additions to article 105 of the General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection, it also made some modifications to some articles such as 38,39,129, etc. and finally added articles that are related to information systems and with forest management.

General Law of Sustainable Fishing and Aquaculture

It is of public order and of social interest, established in article 27 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, its purpose is to regularize, promote and administer the benefit of fishing or aquaculture resources in national territories and in those areas where that the nation tends to exercise its sovereignty and jurisdiction in accordance with Section XXIX-L for the establishment of the bases that will carry out the exercise of the powers that will correspond to states and municipalities with the effective participation of fisheries producers.